Consolidation, Merger, or Shared Services? What Would Best

Running head: CONSOLIDATION, MERGER, OR SHARED SERVICES? WHAT 1

Consolidation, Merger, or Shared Services? What Would Best Suit the City of Alhambra and

Neighboring Communities?

John Cermak

Alhambra Fire Department, Alhambra, California

Appendices Not Included. Please visit the Learning Resource Center on the Web at http://www.lrc.dhs.gov/ to learn how to obtain this report in its entirety through Interlibrary Loan.

CONSOLIDATION, MERGER, OR SHARED SERVICES? WHAT 2

Certification Statement

I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of

others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that the appropriate credit is given where I

have used the language, ideas, expression, or writings of others.

Signed_______________________________

John C. Cermak


Abstract

The Alhambra Fire Department and surrounding area departments have had discussions about

mergers and consolidation since the early 1980’s during different ebbs and flows of the economy

and political situations. Partial consolidations/ shared services since the 1992 predecessor study

of Dr. Hadsell have addressed some of the early issues and increased efficiencies through mutual

aid, automatic aid, unified response, and common dispatching and communications. The

problem is that five neighboring cities each have financial constraints causing reduced

management staffing with the same legal, organizational, and operational concerns. There are

minimal, if any, areas to cut remaining without affecting the suppression and prevention

positions, additionally reducing service levels to the communities as individual cities. The

reduction of staff positions has affected the ability to manage programs efficiently and

effectively individually as agencies. The purpose of this study is to define the types of mergers

and consolidation that exist within the fire service and to determine the feasibility of

consolidating wholly or partially with neighboring agencies for the purpose of increased

efficiency, staffing, and the alleviation of administrative and operational redundancies.

Descriptive research methods were used to answer the following questions: (a) What types of

mergers and consolidations exist for fire departments? (b) What are the benefits of a consolidated

fire department to the citizens of each city? (c) What are the disadvantages of consolidation for

the communities and citizens addressed in the study? (d) What shared services/partial

consolidations would increase efficiencies, decrease duplication, and maintain costs? Procedures

used in this study consisted of a comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire, and interviews

with fire service leaders from the area to identify benefits, challenges, and opportunities, to

consolidating services of local fire departments. The results demonstrated a duplication of


services, programs and responsibilities within all five cities examined. When compared to the

similar sized Glendale (CA) Fire Department, the combined five cities are similar sized, higher

budget, with a greater number of management, stations, and personnel. Recommendations

include examining long-term revenue generating or expenditure reducing solutions to response

and daily operations to increase efficiencies such as a shared EMS model, shared purchasing,

shared management, future functional and operational consolidations and restructuring, to long-

term area mergers.


Table of Contents Certification Statement …………………………………………………………… ……. page 2 Abstract…..……………………………………………………………………………….. page 3 Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………... page 5 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………... page 6 Background and Significance……………………………………………………………… page 9 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………….page 18 Procedures………………………………………………………………………………….page 30 Results…………………………………………………………………………………...…page 32 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………….page 41 Recommendation…………………………………………………………………………...page 46 Reference List………………………………………………………………………………page 48

Appendices

Appendix A: Personal Interview- Dr. Cliff Hadsell Appendix B: City Manager/Council/Fire Chief Questionnaire Appendix C: Questionnaire responses


Consolidation, Merger, or Shared Services? What Would Best Suit the City of Alhambra and

Neighboring Communities?

The “New Now” or “New Reality” is constantly touted throughout industry articles to

describe the current paradigm local governments are facing. All levels of local government are

being asked to do more with less due to the volatility of the economy.Property taxes and sales

taxes have plummeted due in part by the mortgage meltdown and “Great Recession.” With

California Proposition 13, property tax revenue losses could take years to recuperate. The loss of

redevelopment agencies further challenged the ability to revitalize communities to increase the

sales tax base that help support governmental services. These revenue losses have challenged

local government and forced the masses to incorporate a “do more with less” philosophy. Many

will say this was a great necessity in a system of checks and balances to place more

accountability on the public sector, forcing critical discussions on level of service, standards of

cover, and community interaction on public sector expectations. Often these meetings lead to

discussions regarding mergers, consolidations, and outsourcing of services.

Mergers, consolidations, and shared services discussions are not new to the area.

Previous studies suggesting mergers and consolidations for increased efficiencies and decreased

costs have failed, been ignored, or morphed into outsourcing of individual services. Dr. Cliff

Hadsell, retired Division Chief, San Marino Fire Department, conducted a study in 1992 as part

of his master’s thesis that magnified advantages and disadvantages of a Foothill Fire District that

includedfive cities in Area C: Alhambra Fire Department, San Gabriel Fire Department, San

Marino Fire Department, South Pasadena Fire Department, and Monterey Park Fire Department.

Monterey Park Fire Department, South Pasadena Fire Department, and Alhambra Fire

Department have examined merging services with Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City


Fire Departments on multiple different occasions, and failed mostly due to loss of local control

and long-term increased costs that surpassed expected future fire department costs(J. A. Ballard,

personal communication, May 23, 2013).Recommendations by this author to form a Training

Joint Powers Authority distributing training mandates, sharingtraining center costs, benefiting

from revenue generation created at the training center, increasing efficiencies, and elimination of

duplicated efforts has not come to full fruition to date (Cermak, 2009). Agreements to share

training center costs have occurred between three of the four agencies studied in this applied

research project. Additional progress will likely proceed as the relationships spawn and the

process develops. A JPA for Disaster Management Area Coordination (DMAC) was formed in

multiple areas throughout Los Angeles County including Area C. The Federal government

required the JPA in order to apply and receive an emergency management preparedness grant for

regional use (R. A. Mosack, personal communication, July 17, 2013).

All of the Area C agencies provide similar services at different sizes. Each has the same

organizational needs that surround prevention, emergency medical services,community risk

reduction, and fire suppression activities. Each have the same legal requirements to train their

personnel meeting industry safety standards, public education and interventionsto address

community risk reduction, fire prevention leadership supporting a robust community program to

reduce suppression efforts in the long-term, logistical purchases to run and manage their

infrastructure, OSHA safety requirements to maintain Injury Illness Prevention Programs,

hazardous materials disclosure programs, and many more. Some have been addressed as a matter

of necessity. An example is the outsourcing of dispatch services to the consolidated Verdugo

Communications Center owned and operated by Glendale, Burbank, and Pasadena Fire

Departments. All 11, Area C fire departments outsource dispatch services on a pay per call


format. Each receives a better product than offering it as a shared police dispatch program or as

an independent fire dispatch program at close to the same cost as before changing to the

outsourced service.The operational consolidation provided a higher level of service and

accountability.

The regular and steady reduction of personnel and budgets have brought into question

whether fire departments can continue to offer the same level of service while maintaining all of

the programs and services, conforming to accepted standards identified by the local, county,

state, and national organizations that guide the fire service. Battalion Chiefs regularly cover for

each other amongst the five cities to allow for attendance to meetings and administrative

assignments where both cannot be conducted simultaneously. The Alhambra Fire Department,

San Gabriel Fire Department, San Marino Fire Department, South Pasadena Fire Department,

and Monterey Park Fire Department are all questioning duplication of services, inefficiencies,

and response models to address budgetary challenges. Each of the five cities assigns a battalion

chief to training, EMS, disaster preparedness, safety, resource management, budget, and

operations through dual assignment. In Alhambra, one battalion chief is responsible for grants,

training, and resource management, another purchasing, maintenance, budget, records, and

safety. The assistant chief is responsible as the Fire Marshal, operations, disaster preparedness,

EMS, and professional standards. Each is also expected to respond, observe multi-company drills

and visit stations on a regular basis. Most cities have lost their administrative chief officers to

budgetary cuts causing the operational battalion chiefs to work in divisional assignments.

Monrovia, San Gabriel, and San Marino have reclassified the positions as Division Chiefs. The

five fire departments are geographically located within the south section of Region 1, Area C. A

merger, shared services, or consolidation of services of some sort couldreduce


redundancies,enhance efficiencies, and increase services to the communities. The problem is that

the Alhambra Fire Department and listed agencies all have immediate budgetary concerns that

may be addressed by a merger, consolidation, or shared service to maintain local control,

enhance efficiencies, limit duplication, increase services, and/or reduce costs. Continuing to

ignore the need to address the issues will only jeopardize the safety of personnel and reduce the

efficiency of each organization.

The purpose of this study is to define the types of mergers and consolidation that exist

within the fire service and to determine the feasibility of consolidating wholly or partially with

neighboring agencies for the purpose of increased efficiency, staffing, and the alleviation of

administrative and operational redundancies. In the event the level of commitment a merger and

consolidation do not appeal to the political groups, partial consolidations/shared services will be

illustrated as an alternative measure. Descriptive research methods were used to answer the

following questions: (a) What types of mergers and consolidations exist for fire departments? (b)

What are the benefits of a consolidated fire department to the citizens of each city? (c) What are

the disadvantages of consolidation for the communities and citizens addressed in the study? (d)

What shared services would increase efficiencies, decrease duplication, and maintain costs?

Background & Significance

The City of Alhambra is a charter law city with a council/mayor form of government.

The City of Alhambra is located in Los Angeles County, six miles from Los Angeles City Hall.

The west border of Alhambra is adjacent to Los Angeles City, the east border is shared with the

City of San Gabriel, the south border is shared with Monterey Park, and the north border is

shared with South Pasadena and San Marino. The city was incorporated in 1903 and the fire

department was formed in 1906. The city is 7.62 square miles with an estimated population of


85,804("Alh Profile," 2012, para. 1). The fire department is part of the Office of Emergency

Services, Region 1; Area C. Area C is composed of 11 cities that include Alhambra, Arcadia,

Burbank, Glendale, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra

Madre, and South Pasadena.

The Alhambra Fire Department has a long history of cuts to staffing in the fire

department. In 1953, the Class 4 fire department staffed four engines, two rescue ambulances,

and one truck with 58 suppression members, with nearly half the population (51,400) and fewer

buildings ("Wiki, ALH," n.d., figure Historical). Today, the Alhambra Fire Department has 60

suppression personnel that staff four engines, one truck, two rescue ambulances, and one

command vehicle. The fire chief, one fire prevention specialist, and four clerical assistants are

the only administrative staff. The following positions have either been frozen, eliminated, or are

currently vacant due to fiscal constraints: two Assistant Chiefs, one Training Chief, an EMS

Captain, an Arson Captain, a Haz Mat/Prevention Captain, one Fire Mechanic, and a Fire

Prevention Analyst.The department operates in a much more complex and robust environment

than in 1953 when the department was staffed at similar levels. In 1955, a master mechanic was

hired to address the fire apparatus fleet maintenance(AFD- History 2, n.d.). Currently, the fire

mechanic has been eliminated with routine work being completed by city mechanics and

specialty repairs outsourced to private industry.Report management and documentation is not

handled efficiently as required by NFPA recommendations and department policy due to the

cross-departmental service agreement and lack of direct control. None of the city mechanics

maintain a fire apparatus certification causing many of the repairs to be outsourced or completed

by uncertified technicians. In 1965, 95 members staffed four engines, two trucks, two rescue

ambulances, managed by the fire chief, two assistant chiefs, one fire marshal, one training and


safety chief, and one alarms and communications chief (AFD- History 2, n.d.). With the lack of

support personnel, administrative responsibilities shifted to suppression personnel, which

resulted in a reduction in required organized training, inspections, and station and vehicle

maintenance, and have created frustration amongst the workforce. The population has swelled

from 51,400 in 1955 to over 85,000 in 2013. There is no additional land to build new

occupancies with old buildings being replaced with newer, larger, and taller occupancies. The

buildings are better protected by improved codes, however the population and number of

emergency calls for service continue to increase. Couple this with people living longer,

emergency medical service demands continue to impact response in a much more complex

organization than 1955. A steady increase in call load correlates with the increased population.

The fire prevention division suffers with only one person assigned. Even when two were

assigned, all occupancy inspections were not completed as required, community risk reduction

efforts could not be addressed, and only basic public education efforts were being conducted and

pushed to the suppression fire companies.

Increasing efficiencies are tightening purse strings at all levels of government. California

Proposition 13 was passed June 6, 1978("CA Prop 13," February 28, 2013, para. 1). This

prompted what would be the first attempt at a merger in the Alhambra Fire Department. In the

early 1980’s, the City of Alhambra went out to bid for a merger with the Los Angeles County

Fire Department. The citizens decided against the service contract that would have merged the

Alhambra Fire Department with Los Angeles County Fire Department. In 1992, San Marino

Firefighter/PM Hadsell completed a study on a merger of the five Area C Fire Departments that

consisted of Alhambra, San Marino, South Pasadena, Monterey Park, and San Gabriel into a

newly created Foothill Fire District. There were many compelling findings to substantiate the


merger of the five fire departments that never occurred. In 1996, the Alhambra Fire Department

labor group solicited support from the community and placed an initiative on the ballot to receive

a bid to merge services of the Alhambra Fire Department into the Los Angeles County Fire

Department. Discussions about having Los Angeles City Fire Department and Rural Metro

provide proposals as part of the process occurred as options(J. A. Ballard, personal

communication, May 23, 2013). The voters defeated the ballot initiative to accept the request for

service by a large margin with clear direction to maintain local control of fire and EMS services.

As communities continue to grow, revenues shrink, expenditures rise, and demand for

specialized services increase; community leaders and politicians are forced to ask for alternatives

to address service levels under economies of scale. The City of South Pasadena has requested

proposals for operational consolidations and requested proposals for functional consolidations

for management services from the City of Alhambra, Pasadena, County of Los Angeles, and City

of Los Angeles. Political barriers between Alhambra, South Pasadena, and Pasadena fused to the

extension of the 710 freeway are an example of roadblocks that can and do prevent sensible

consolidations. Legal fees to battle the freeway extension are contributing to reductions in public

safety service levels within each community. The City of Monterey Park submitted a referendum

for the voters to approve a bid to merge fire services to the Los Angeles County Fire Department

in July2013. It was again defeated by a significant margin, illustrating the direction of the

community. Discussion prior to the referendum and in anticipation of its failureincluded both

functional and operational consolidations and shared services with the surrounding agencies. The

City of San Gabriel Fire Department has been asked to look at alternatives to reduce the fire

department budget that include service cuts, partial consolidations/shared services, functional

and operational consolidations, and mergers. The City of Alhambra has not requested proposals


for a merger since the labor groupcampaigned to force a merge with Los Angeles County Fire

Department. In the past, the City of Alhambra leaders have always strived to maintain local

control of the fire department as demonstrated by the voters in past referendums.

The City of Alhambra Fire Department has experienced multiple cuts to the support staff

that challenge different elements of the operation of the department. The department is at 1955

staffing levels. Each of the local fire departments are tasked with the same support requirements

in the administration of a full service fire department that include fire suppression, fire

prevention, management of personnel and issues surrounding personnel, public education,

community risk reduction, training, disaster preparedness, safety, emergency medical services,

hazardous materials disclosure, and logistical support for maintenance, repair, and ongoing

purchasing of uniforms, equipment, and supplies. The City of Alhambra has been under a

constant state of redevelopment for the past 20 years. The city management has done an

excellent job of revitalizing the city and bringing businesses that provide a strong tax base for a

progressive community. The fire prevention section is smaller now than any time in the past,

jeopardizing community services provided for businesses coming into the city. Because of

consistent elimination of administrative staff, an administrative element is divided and assigned

to each chief officer in the fire departments. Each fire department assigns similar administrative

functions to the chief officers. One station, South Pasadena Fire Department has the same

requirements and mandatesas four station, Alhambra Fire Department. They have the same

venders and contacts as Alhambra Fire Department and require similar time commitments to

research and order for five people as it does for twenty people. Training mandates are the same

for each agency with two to five separate responsible parties handling the administrative aspect

of scheduling, planning, and executing the same mandates. Often agencies train together to meet


ISO requirements to enhance responses through mutual aid training. Jensen and Snook write,

“Because of their limited resources, small organizations are having difficulty meeting state and

federal mandates” (Jensen & Snook, 2000, para. 7). Technological solutions are helping to meet

different aspects of program delivery and documentation that has helped to bridge some of this

pressure. For instance, Target Solutions, an online training records and management system, has

assisted in meeting training mandates that were either not completed in the past or had to be

developed by each individual agency in duplication. Target Solutions has partnered with NFPA

to develop and deliver certified training for fire and EMS meeting industry mandates.Tablet

solutions are assisting with electronic reporting and technological advances that help reduce

duplicitous inputting of data, increase collection of funds, and better data management to help

risk reduction in the future.

Defined terminology, benefits, and concerns about mergers, consolidation, and partial

consolidations/shared services will clearly delineate and explain options available to the five

cities examined. Partial consolidations/shared services are also an option when mergers will not

work or are used to build toward mergers and test the process. Many shared services already

exist through Unified Response policies and mutual aid agreements as well as fee based

agreements. Examples include shared resources for truck company service for the Cities of South

Pasadena, San Gabriel, and San Marino at no cost, and fee based resources like Verdugo

Communications for shared dispatch and the training center use agreements between Alhambra,

San Marino, Monterey Park, and San Gabriel.

Different opportunities and challenges will continue to arise that may be answered by a

merger, consolidation, or shared service. The United States Fire Administrator Kelvin Cochran

shared one of the most pressing opportunities in the fire service:


Fire-based EMS is going to be a significant opportunity for us given the healthcare

environment in which the country finds itself. In the future, fire-based EMS effectively

will reduce the workload on hospitals and clinics, and that will strengthen the relationship

between the fire service and a plethora of medical care institutions on the local level. It

also will save the lives of many Americans.(Cochran, 2010, para. 17)

Three years ago, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act

(PPACA) that has and will influence fire departments to change their deployment models to

address the eminent changes to healthcare systems across the country (Clark, 2013).Glendale

(CA) Fire Department has progressively addressed this opportunity by reorganizing their fire-

based EMS more efficiently, reducing expenses, maintaining local control, and preparing for

future revenues to be captured and maintained in the public sector (Belknap, 2011). Proactive

actions to address efficiencies will curb the time necessary to move forward as PPACA gains

traction. Community based paramedicine, fire department clinics, and healthcare aftercare will

be more easily transitioned with the appropriate providers and resources in place.

Mergers, consolidations, and partial consolidations/shared service agreements will

provide communities the opportunity to strengthen response, redistribute resources- both

personnel and equipment, address more modern response models, eliminate redundant

administrative functions, and increase efficiencies. Glendale (CA) Fire Department was able to

reduce their expenditures, increase efficiencies, and prepare for future probabilities by

reorganizing and establishing a different response model. The following tables illustrate and

provide background and significance to the staffing of the five cities compared to Glendale (CA)

Fire Department, a similar sized and populated city as the five combined cities:


Table 1 illustrates the five fire departments staffing levels. It should be noted that

Glendale has an entire Environmental Protection section under the Fire Marshal, however they

still have a much more prolific prevention and public education division to address community

risk reduction than the five cities combined.

TABLE 1: PERSONNEL

CITY

FIRE CHIEF

40 HOU

R CHIEFS

SHIFT BCS

CAPTAINS

ENGIN

EERS

FF-FF/PMS

TOTAL SHIFT PERSO

NN

EL

FIRE PROTECTIO

N SPECIALISTS

DEPUTY FIRE M

ARSHAL

ALHAMBRA 1 0 3 15 15 27 60 1 1 MONTEREY PARK 1 0 3 12 12 24 51 3 0 SAN GABRIEL 1 0 3 6 6 12 27 0 1 SOUTH PASADENA 1PT 0 3 3 6 9 24 0 1PT SAN MARINO 1 2 0 3 3 9 15 0 0 TOTALS 5 2 12 39 42 81 177 4 3

GLENDALE 1 3 3 39 37 96 179 13 0

Table 2 illustrates the five fire departments and the number of incidents, size, and

population (Verdugo Fire Communications [VFC 2011/2012], 2012, p. 3,9). Budget information

for Alhambra ("ALH BUDGET," 2012, p. 9); Monterey Park ("MPK Budget," 2012, p. M1); San

Gabriel ("SGB Budget," 2012, p. 107); South Pasadena ("SPS Budget," 2012, p. 119); San

Marino ("SMS Budget," 2012, p. 42); Glendale ("GLN Budget," 2012, p. G4).


TABLE 2: INCIDENTS PER CITY/ POPULATION/FD BUDGET

CITY

TOTAL CALLS

FIRES

EMS

SERVICE

AUTO

/MU

TUAL

AID

SQU

ARE MILES

BUDGET

POPU

LATION

ALHAMBRA 4849 515 3988 346 736 7.62 14,421,068 83,661 MONTEREY PARK 3447 370 2899 178 606 7.7 11,076,679 61,153 SAN GABRIEL 2153 286 1739 128 389 4.1 6,323,629 39,926 SOUTH PASADENA 1659 275 1242 142 420 3.44 4,125,366 25,725 SAN MARINO 825 206 532 87 594 3.75 4,533,437 13,195 TOTALS 12933 1652 10400 881 2745 26.61 40,480,179 223,660

GLENDALE 15789 1476 13610 703 802 30.59 37,756,102 192,654

Table 3 catalogs the vehicles and number of fire stations serving the listed communities.

TABLE 3: EQUIPMENT/STATIONS

CITY

FIRE STATION

S

ENGIN

ES

TRUCK

RESCUE AM

BULAN

CES

STAFFED COM

MAN

D VEHICLE

STAFFED AIR/LIGHT

ALHAMBRA 4 4 1 2 1 0 MONTEREY PARK 3 3 1 2 1 0 SAN GABRIEL 2 2 0 1 1 0 SOUTH PASADENA 1 1 0 1 1 1 SAN MARINO 1 1 0 1 0 0

TOTALS 11 11 2 7 4 1

GLENDALE 9 9 3 6 1 0

This research correlates to Goal 2- Improve local planning and preparedness, of the

United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) strategic initiatives by enhancing the fire and

emergency services’ performance in response to all hazards (Federal Emergency Management

Agency [FEMA], 2010, p. 19). This research also applies to theNational Fire Academy’s

Executive Fire Officer Executive Leadership course Unit 7: Politics and Public Policy, Enabling


Objective 1- Identify the relevance of factional interests to the formation of public policy and

Objective 3- Evaluate the interests of different factions to determine their influence on achieving

desired outcomes (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2010, p. SM 7-1). This

Applied Research Project also applies to the United States Fire Administration Operational

Objectives: #5. To respond appropriately in a timely manner to emerging issues (Federal

Emergency Management Administration [FEMA], 2006, p. 3)Mergers, consolidation, and shared

services can both enhance and detract from response capabilities. These decisions are extremely

political, affect response and program performance efficiencies, and preparedness to all hazard

emergencies with many factional interests involved in the public policy decisions necessary for

mergers, consolidations, and shared services.

Literature Review

On a regular basis, Western Fire Chief’s Association, California Daily Dispatch,

highlightnewspaper articles on mergers and consolidation across the nation. In 1990, an

estimated 20-30 consolidations occurred nationwide, with nearly 500 in the year 2000 (Jensen &

Snook, 2000). In 1990, Chief Steve Merger wrote, “The combined effect of increasing

requirements and decreasing resources is forcing fire service managers to do more for less”

(Merger, 1990, p. 28-30). The budget and economy continue to challenge fire service leaders

across the country. Jack Snook (2013), Fire Chief (ret.) and co-owner Emergency Services

Consulting International, theorizes that the economy is improving, however the fire service will

experience a new reality that will never return to what it used to be. Understanding and working

within the “New Reality” requires a keen knowledge of expenditures and revenues, clear

community expectations on the standard of cover, and plans that include options and details to

address different challenges and opportunities. Mergers, consolidations, collaboration, and


shared services are here to stay and part of the “New Reality.” Snook quotes Chief Coleman,

California State Fire Marshal (ret.), in 2000, “There are approximately 950 fire departments in

the State of California, and if the current rate of consolidations continues, by the year 2015 there

could potentially be less than 250 fire departments” (Jensen & Snook, 2000, para. 5).

In order to dive deeper into the “New Reality” in doing more with less, key terminology

should be defined to insure clear understanding of the study. What begins as collaboration and

cooperation, often leads to more comprehensive consolidations and mergers. Johnson and Snook

(1997) define three types of consolidation, partial, functional, and operational, and most complex

as a merger. A partial consolidation or shared service is when a fire department remains legally

separate, but a special group is formed to handle specific functions. A functional consolidation

allows for independence, but one or more duties normally performed by each department are

joined together and carried out as one organization under a more formal agreement. Joint Powers

Authorities (JPA) can be an example of such functional or operational consolidations. Santa Fe

Springs Fire Department and Downey Fire Department attempted and failed to combine all chief

officers into a fire management team using a JPA in the late 1980’s that would have reduced

costs and redundancies (Campbell, 1994). Finally, an operational consolidation occurs when two

or more departments join together operationally or administratively to form one organization, but

remain legally separate (Snook & Johnson, 1997, p. 17). A merger occurs when two or more

entities legally resolve to become one entirely new entity (Snook & Johnson, 1997, p. 19). The

current referendum to the voters to merge Monterey Park Fire Department into Los Angeles

County Fire Department would be an example of a merger.

Pioneering Central Arizona in 1993, Central Yavapai Fire District and Prescott Fire

Department started with the most elementary, easily reversible, and safe process of sharing


services by utilizing a common fire training officer to coordinate and track training, regionalizing

communications, joint fleet maintenance, and unified responses through automatic aid (Vasquez,

1998). Why Consolidate? Why Not? Campbell (1994) highlights the following areas as reasons

communities benefit from consolidations, mergers, collaboration, or shared services:

• Increase service levels to citizens

• Improved use of resources

• Flexibility of staff

• Dollar savings

• Stronger internal programs

• Overcome political boundary issues ensuring closest unit responds quicker

• To reduce redundancies in apparatus, stations, personnel, and equipment

• Lower apparatus replacement costs

• Increase Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings

• Can result in a new organization that places more resources on the fireground

• Combined, hiring, testing, and training of new and promoted employees

Advantages were not limited to the organization, but also extended to the personnel. In

1992, Dr. Cliff Hadsell completed the predecessor study titled, “An Analysis of the Feasibility of

Consolidating Five San Gabriel Fire Departments: Alhambra, San Gabriel, San Marino, South

Pasadena, and Monterey Park.” In the 1992 study, the findings demonstrated the advantages to a

consolidation of the five cities to be as follows (Hadsell, 1992):

• Increased fire protection

• Greater diversity in specialized program and equipment capabilities

• Increased long-term efficiencies


• A reduction in overall station coverage by two stations

• A common communication infrastructure

• Central purchasing

• Central maintenance and fleet management program

Several issues have been addressed since 1992 through outsourcing/quasi shared servicesand

evolution. For instance, the transition of all 11 cities in Area C to Verdugo Communications as

an outsourced/operational consolidationhandling all operational control of dispatch of units has

increased efficiencies, reduced redundancies, enhanced response times for larger fire force

responses with seamless automatic aid, and common communications infrastructure. Grants

have allowed for an expanded Urban Search and Rescue level of service, more prolific

community based public safety with Citizen’s Corps and CERT programs, better training for all

governmental personnel that may be charged with mitigating a large calamity to a local disaster,

tools and equipment to address terrorism, and technological advances to assist in incident

management of large scale incidents.

In a personal interview with Dr. Hadsell, he listed some of the employee advantages that the

affected personnel had experienced during his employment while Westminster Fire Department

merged with the Orange County Fire Authority (C. Hadsell, personal communication, April 23,

2013):

• Greater opportunities for employees to promote

• More diversity in job assignments for employees

• Larger coverage area allowed personnel to live closer to work

Beyerstedt , Fire Chief, Gulfport, Mississippi, conducted questionnaires from fire service

leaders that indicated that chief advantages included possible reduction of service duplications,


increased purchasing power, reduction in maintenance costs, reduced numbers of required

reserve vehicles, and a reduction of administrative staff when merging three small departments

into one larger department (Beyerstedt, n.d.).

Robert Rielage, in Collaboration or Consolidation?, highlights reasons why consolidations

and mergers may not work or fail for communities and collaboration may work (Rielage, 2010):

• Politics

• Failure to navigate funding methods, service levels, response time expectations, and the

determination of representation on the districts governing board

• Fear of the unknown

• Officers, firefighters and clerical staff may fear negative impact or loss of jobs

• Poor communications

Dr. Hadsell (1992) found disadvantages as follows (Hadsell, 1992):

• Local autonomy

• Local control

• Legal authority

• Integration of the Fire Chief

Hadsell (1992) found that the integration of a single fire chief was especially challenging since

four other positions would be lost or demoted to lower positions, losing their kingdoms with

possible pay reductions. Walker (2013) stated that the primary reason for haulted

consolidation/merger conversations between Fountain Valley (CA) and Huntington Beach (CA)

was the unwillingness of community leaders to relinquish any local control and the feeling of

loss of local autonomy.


In a personal interview with Dr. Hadsell (2013), he listed some of the disadvantages that

he had experienced during his employment while Westminster Fire Department merged with the

Orange County Fire Authority (C. Hadsell, personal communication, April 23, 2013):

• Pay, rank, and benefit reductions

• Home rule- loss of control and local autonomy

• Higher than expected contract increases

A JPA between West Covina Fire Department and Covina Fire Department in 1986 to provide an

expanded and more cost-effective fire protection failed after two years plagued by labor

problems and a decrease in level of service to one of the two agencies (" W Covina," 1988).

The Great Recession has challenged the economy, placing emphasis on government

services. Chief Ron Colemanshares, “If revenues are declining faster than expenditures are

increasing, then you need to be looking at the economics of your community and not just what it

is going to mean to you and your staff or your budget” (Coleman, 2012). This raises the issue of

a standard of cover and community expectations. What risk does the community have and, what

risk is the community willing to take? The fire service is just that, a service. What level of

service does the community want from the fire department and,to a deeper dive, the city?

Furthermore, does the community have the financial resources and what can they afford?

Coleman recommends asking whether the entity can afford the services theyprovide(Coleman,

2012). Kelvin Cochran, U.S. Fire Administrator (ret.), explains:

Based on the economic drivers we are facing, the fire service at local levels will have to

evaluate whether a community or fire department has the resources and capabilities to

respond to such risks. If they do not, there are several strategies to remedy this, such as

more formal automatic-aid or increased mutual-aid agreements, regional agreements


related to special operation services, and the consolidation of smaller departments into

larger departments. (Cochran, 2010, para. 3)

The five cities examined within this research all are part of a Unified Response system in

Area C. Automatic-aid and mutual-aid are practiced automatically through a seamless, combined

dispatch. Johnson and Snook write that this type of agreement is often a precursor to a more

permanent cooperative agreement (Snook & Johnson, 1997). It is crucial that viable and

competent modern fire chiefs ask these critical questions and look for cost effective, fiscally

responsible, solutions to address the service expectations of the community. Jensen and Snook

advise, “In situations were local control remains a key objective, providers have identified

specific areas where cooperation makes sense without sacrificing the ability to set service levels

and conduct long-term planning” (Jensen & Snook, 2000, p. 2).

In reality, successful consolidations and collaborations have been cultivating for many

years. Mutual-aid agreements were established to assist with leveraging resources as force

multipliers on large incidents improving service coverage of multiple jurisdictions within a

geographical area. Further, automatic-aid agreements, such as the “Unified Response” in Area C,

have further ventured towards dropping jurisdictional boundaries to address closest availability

for the best event outcome. A Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was formed between Seal Beach,

Fountain Valley, Westminster, and Huntington Beach Fire Departments for a centralized

communication center that led to a joint powers authority for training and one of the nation’s first

Computer Aided Dispatch Systems and automatic-aid programs ("HBFD," 2013).

The development of a large county fire department was often developed due to necessity

to manage fire services in unincorporated areas of political entities. These often grew into large

entities that provided contract options to incorporated areas for fire and EMS protection and


services. Alameda County Fire Department was formed initially by Castro Valley Fire Protection

District, Eden Consolidated Fire Protection District, and the County Fire Patrol on July 1, 1993,

as the Alameda County Fire Department, followed by City of San Leandro July 1, 1995, City of

Dublin July 1, 1997, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory August 1, 2002, Lawrence

Livermore National Laboratory October 1, 2007, the City of Newark May 1, 2010, and the City

of Union City on July 1, 2010(http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/fire/). Alameda County Fire Chief

Sheldon Gilbert recognized a reduction of redundant services, increased service delivery

coordination, increased cooperation and service levels, and realization of economies of scale

after the full merge of fire services (Gilbert, 2003, p. 9). Alameda County Fire Department

markets regional fire service benefits on their webpage as(http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/fire/):

• Increased depth of services

• Decreased costs to the economies of scale

• Access to specialty services that jurisdictions cannot maintain on their own (Type 1

Heavy Rescue, Type 1 Hazardous Materials)

• Benefits of a regional provider with an identity and involvement of your local fire

department

Los Angeles County Fire Department has a long history of merging with area

independent cities contracting for fire and emergency medical services. In 1920, Los Angeles

County Forestry Department was tasked with managing the Los Angeles County Fire

Department. By 1925, 30 Fire Protection Districts were formed allowing small towns in

unincorporated territory to pay for fire protection. By 1952,the department had expanded to 80

fire stations and over 1000 uniformed personnel (http://fire.lacounty.gov/history/History.asp).

Today, the Los Angeles County Fire Department has expanded to over 3,000 uniformed


personnel. Fifty-seven cities contract for fire services with the County of Los Angeles Fire

Department as of 2004 ("LACoFD Pre Mgmt Plan," 2004). Often communities choose to

evaluate the option of contracting services as a cost savings measure to taxpayers. Recently, the

City of Monterey Park evaluated, presented the option to contract for services with the Los

Angeles County Fire Department, the community voted, and the referendum was dismissed by a

large margin. Per Monterey Park Municipal Code, a report from an independent auditor was

required to establish the study that recommended the transition to Los Angeles County Fire

Department. The ESCI study identified and recommended:

“The most compelling reason ESCI recommends transition to the LACFD system is

financially based. The positive economic impact and potential cost savings to the City

(over a five-year period) of $10,158,461 to $12,567,520 dollars, including required

LACFD one-time conversion costs through 2017, will have a positive effect on the city

Budget” (Emergency Services Consulting International [ESCI], 2012, p. 10).

The Monterey Park referendum was not accepted after the July 2, 2013 vote. Community leaders

and voters are often concerned about loss of local control as it relates to the employees that are

contracted through Los Angeles County Fire Department. In the City of Pomona, a LACoFD

contract city, a new labor agreement increased the cost of services by 2% plus retirement and

Worker’s Compensation insurance to the City in the amount of $635,700 during a difficult

economic period for the city fiscal year 2013/2014(Rodriquez, 2013). The city leaders have

minimal, if any, local control over the raises and periods in which raises are granted as a contract

city, affecting other departments adversely at inopportune times.

Shared services or partial consolidations can often increase efficiencies, decrease

duplication, and maintain costs through non-invasive sharing resources or consolidating

programs. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) continues to emerge as a growing opportunity to


the fire service. The United States Fire Administration opines that EMS is a major role of the fire

service, and is increasing in sophistication and scope (Federal Emergency Management Agency,

n.d., p. 1.1). Snook and Jensen (2000) concluded that jurisdictional areas often dictate responses

from fire departments, however ambulance service areas are not governed by the same

boundaries and lend to better business agreements with HMOs and hospitals (Jensen & Snook,

2000). Fire service EMS innovations, like the programs Westminster, Huntington Beach, and

Glendale (CA) Fire Departments practice, could be a combined shared service or JPA within an

entire area,increasing efficiencies and service levels to citizens of communities while

maintaining the revenue accrued through the process, maintaining local control, and revenues.

This would maintain provisions granted through the California Health and Safety Code 1797.201

and 1797.224 while maintaining local control of EMS services. Through the Los Angeles County

merger study for Monterey Park Fire Department, it was illustrated in a presentation to council

and citizens that the EMS program is cost negative $698,129 (City of Monterey Park Fire

Department [MPKFD], 2013, p. 24). They operate fire department paramedic staffed

transportation ambulances. Glendale (CA) Fire Department changed from the same model as

Monterey Park Fire Department and all other Region 1 Area C cities to an EMT ambulance

operator program. This program transitioned them from a $2.5 million cost negative program

modified to a $23,157 revenue generating paramedic program (Belknap, 2011, p. 20). Table 2

illustrates that the five cities examined are similar sized when combined as the City of Glendale.

Their populations are similar, calls for service are similar, and the demographics and personnel

are similar. Tables 1 and 3 illustrate that the number of stations and equipment are similar to

examine comparisons for shared services, mergers, and consolidation opportunities. Similar

savings, with a JPA within the five cities, based on the information and correlation to Glendale


(CA) is ascertainable. The City of Westminster maintained control of their EMS transportation

program by excluding it from the contract for serviceswith Orange County Fire Authority to

maintain the revenue generation for the city (C. Hadsell, personal communication, April 23,

2013). Jensen and Snook (2000) illustrated two departments, Marin County Fire Department,

California and Kootenai County, Idaho, maintained a separate EMS delivery system that traveled

the entire area governed by a Joint Powers Authority Agreement. EMS being 75-90% of fire

service call volume, it is easy to correlate the message from the United States Fire

Administration. Long Beach (CA) Fire Department recently changed to a “rapid medic

deployment” model that places one paramedic in each responding unit, eliminating the current

system of two paramedics on each ambulance with expected savings of $1.8 million(Valenzuela,

2013). Clark (2013) shares the opportunities and threats presented by PPACA and the impacts

and expectations of fire-based EMS to provide community based paramedicine, fire department

clinics, healthcare aftercare, and transportation management are significant and should be at the

forefront of the planning process. Chief Al Gillespie, IAFC President and North Las Vegas Fire

Department, advocates:

“We must always search for ways to improve services through innovation, cost-sharing

and consolidation of resources. But in order to be truly effective at this, we also need to

improve how we keep the public informed regarding the return we provide on the funding

they invest. If we truly open their eyes to how we use public monies, we may be able to

get them to see the right principles as well” (Gillespie, 2012, p. 2).

PPACA will provide both threats and opportunities to fire-based EMS with the all-encompassing

healthcare overhaul. This will provide a major opportunity for fire-based EMS providers if fire

service leaders follow-up with a comprehensive overhaul maximizing the benefits of the


strengths and minimizing the negative impacts to the organization and the community (Clark,

2013). Assembly Bill 678 (Chapter 397, Statutes 0f 2011) and PPACA legislated, beginning

fiscal year 2013-2014 and beyond, the federal government will cover 50% of the cost to local

governmental only fire-based EMS agencies for providing paramedic services, ground

emergency medical transport, and suppression costs associated with having paramedics aboard

fire engines each time they are deployed without cap on the amount (League of California Cities,

2013, p. 1). Many fire departments are reorganizing early to prepare for the opportunities

forward.

Merging management services with smaller agencies can combine duplicitous operations

that each are required to perform and increase the efficiencies by those participating. El Cajon,

La Mesa, and Lemon Grove entered into a joint exercise of powers agreement for management

and delivery of fire protection and emergency medical services. All stakeholders worked

together to reorganize how the three cities would operate under this shared management team

known as “Heartland Fire & Rescue.” The team includes one fire chief, three deputy chiefs, two

division chiefs, five battalion chiefs, fire prevention resources, and eight support staff to save

$560,000 annually for the three cities ("Three City," n.d.). The population closely reflects the

community of Glendale (CA) with a population of 183,000 and a call volume of 20,000 calls for

service per year ("Three City," n.d.). The same type of merger was attempted but failed between

Santa Fe Springs and Downey (CA), largely due to lack of stakeholder input and participation

(Campbell, 1994). Merging management services can reduce redundancies and increase

efficiencies within economies of scale if modeled correctly.


Procedures

This applied research project employed a descriptive research methodology to answer the

questions by utilizing inductive logic to place the resulting data into a theoretical context.

Historical research was conducted through literature review, a questionnaire to fire chiefs, city

managers, council members, and mayors, individual historical recollections in utilizing personal

interviews, and personal experience. As part of this applied research project, it also included

review of fire service periodicals, historical fire department documents, and other published fire

service documents relating to this subject matter to identify types of mergers, consolidations, and

sharedservices between five fire departments that could increase efficiencies, decrease

duplication, and maintain costs of providing top level services to all of the communities.

Industry experts were identified and interviewed based on past experiences with mergers,

consolidations, accepted published research, and historical knowledge of the listed experiences.

Dr. Cliff Hadsell was interviewed and selected due to his past history working with Westminster

Fire Department during the merger with Orange County Fire Authority and his past research at

California State University, Long Beach. Retired Fire Chief James A. Ballard was interviewed as

the retired Fire Chief of the Alhambra Fire Department that presided during the second Los

Angeles County Fire Department merger attempt and a Chief Officer during the first Los

Angeles County Fire Department merger attempt. Fire Chief Bill Walker shared knowledge

during discussions of the Brea/Fullerton consolidation and Fountain Valley/Huntington Beach

discussions while Fire Chief for the Fountain Valley Fire Department. Assistant Chief Raymond

A. Mosack was interviewed as the Past President of the Disaster Management Area Coordinator,

assisting with the creation of the JPA for Disaster Management Coordination.


Assumptions

The procedures utilized to conduct the research, maintain several assumptions. It is

assumed that the authors cited in the Literature Review used an accepted research methodology

to gather and utilize the information in an unbiased manner. The second assumption is that those

people answering the questionnaire are qualified to answer the question for their respective

organizations. The final assumption is that the number of respondents provided for an adequate

sampling for a qualitative analysis.

Literature Review

A comprehensive literature review was conducted. The review began in the National Fire

Academy’s, National Emergency Training Center, Learning Research Center, in Emmitsburg,

Maryland from 2008, in the Executive Development course, with this author’s training shared

service applied research project until 2012. The objective of the literature review was to gather

information contained in professional journals, previous fire service associate’s Applied

Research Projects, and professional manuals and articles. A literature review and a personal

interview regarding the 1992 Master’s Thesis, “An Analysis of the Feasibility of Consolidating

Five San Gabriel Fire Departments: Alhambra, San Gabriel, San Marino, South Pasadena, and

Monterey Park” with the predecessor author, Dr. Cliff Hadsell was conducted on April 23, 2013,

to evaluate the findings of his research and progress since 1992.

Questionnaire

A questionnaire was utilized to query similar sized department and or related departments

as to the ideas and political views on mergers, consolidations, and shared services. The same

questionnaire sample was expanded to include fire chiefs in the United States that had experience

with mergers, consolidations, and shared services. Appendix B contains the data results returned


from the questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed through a commercial survey website

via invitation on May 23, 2013, to selected local department fire chiefs, city managers, council

members and mayors. It was expanded on June 24, 2013, to International Association of Fire

Chief’s, via email invitation on IAFC Knowledge Net.

Limitations

The questionnaire was originally limited to the local city managers, city councils/mayors,

and fire chiefs as well as other regionally similar agencies that are having the same dilemmas,

challenges, and opportunities. Two out of ten city managers, two out of fifty council members,

six out of ten fire chiefs responded to the questionnaires sent out and left open for the 60 day

period.Input from council members, city managers, and mayors was minimal and most likely

associated with political ramifications or implications associated with the questionnaire. Due to

the low response of local entities, the questionnaire was opened up to Chief Officers through the

International Association Fire Chief’s Knowledge Net where a total of 60 additional responses

were gathered from fire chiefs across the nation that have experienced a merger, consolidation,

or utilized some sort of shared service.

Results

1. What types of mergers and consolidations exist for fire departments?

In order to identify the types of mergers and consolidations that exist for fire

departments, a clear definition had to be established. The literature review revealed several

different variations of definitions for mergers and consolidations. Often, one author would call a

consolidation a merger and interchange the terms. All were similar, however for the uniformity

of this paper, Snook, J. W., & Johnson, J. D. (1997) definitions were utilized: Partial

Consolidation/Shared service- when a fire department remains legally separate, but a special


group is formed to handle specific functions; Functional Consolidation- allows for independence,

but one or more duties normally performed by each department are joined together and carried

out as one organization; Operational Consolidation- occurs when two or more departments join

together operationally or administratively to form one organization, but remain legally separate;

Merger- occurs when two or more entities legally resolve to become one entirely new entity.

A common theme throughout the literature review and questionnaire was that partial

consolidations and shared services were often a precursor to functional and operational

consolidations and eventually mergers (Snook & Johnson, 1997). Examples of shared

services/partial consolidations reviewed during the literature review include but are not limited

to:

• Rescue ambulance transportation utilizing ambulance operator- maintained local control

reorganizing with EMT transport and replacing more costly paramedics onto the fire

apparatus.This process increased efficiencies, revenues, and services within economies

of scale (C. Hadsell, personal communication, April 23, 2013).

o Westminster Fire Department- maintained ambulance operator program after

merging with Orange County Fire Authority(C. Hadsell, personal

communication, April 23, 2013).

o Anaheim Fire Department- Care Ambulance contract (Belknap, 2011, p. 6).

o Huntington Beach Fire Department- maintains a city managed ambulance

operator program (Belknap, 2011, p. 6).

o Glendale (CA) Fire Department- maintains a city managed ambulance operator

program (Belknap, 2011, p. 6).


o Santa Monica Fire Department- Gerber Ambulance contract (Belknap, 2011, p.

6).

o Phoenix Fire Department- maintains a city managed ambulance operator program

(Belknap, 2011, p. 6).

o La Habra Fire Department- maintained ambulance operator program after

merging with Los Angeles County Fire Department.

• Urban Search and Rescue teams for regional responses- grant funded

o San Gabriel Fire Department

o Monterey Park Fire Department

o Alhambra Fire Department

o Pasadena Fire Department

o Arcadia Fire Department

o Monrovia Fire Department

o Glendale Fire Department

o Santa Fe Springs Fire Department

o Vernon Fire Department

o Downey Fire Department

o Compton Fire Department

o Long Beach Fire Department

• Truck company operations- Unified Response Agreement: no cost to listed agencies

o San Marino Fire Department

o San Gabriel Fire Department

o South Pasadena Fire Department


• Community Emergency Response Teams- organized through the Disaster Management

JPA (grant funded)

o Region 1Disaster Management Areas within Los Angeles County

• Unified Response- agreement entered into when signing Verdugo Communications-

operational consolidation- shared service for Pasadena, Glendale, and Burbank Fire

Departments; contract service for nine other cities.

o Region 1 Area C cities

Examples of functional consolidations reviewed during the literature review include but

are not limited to:

• Disaster Management JPA to address a regional grant and approach to disaster

preparedness. Allowed for funds to hire a consultant to manage disaster services, attend

meetings, represent the area, and disseminate information to subscribing agencies.

o Region 1 Area C cities

• Training center use agreements and JPAs

o Alhambra, San Marino, Monterey Park, and San Gabriel

o Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa

o Fullerton, Anaheim, Brea, Garden Grove

• Fire Management Consortiums- Brea/Fullerton utilizes an operational consolidation to

address fire management services under an agreement that has been successful to date

both operationally and administratively (B. Walker, personal communication, May 17,

2013). A similar such functional consolidation where battalion chiefs were combined to

manage response to calls, but maintained administrative autonomy, was attempted and


failed due to labor issues surrounding the attempt between Santa Fe Springs and Downey

Fire Department management groups(Campbell, 1994).

• Training Program Manager- unified area training

o Central Yavapai and Prescott

• Communications, Computer Aided Dispatch, and Training

o Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster, and Huntington Beach

Examples of operational consolidations reviewed during the literature review include but are not

limited to:

• Verdugo Communications- Unified dispatch and reduced time in dispatch services for

proper response resources. Manages response policies and resources to increase

efficiency and service levels to the communities.

o Region 1 Area C cities and Montebello who is part of Area E

• Brea/Fullerton Management Consortium- combined services to administer all fire

management functions, including response, reducing duplication of personnel and efforts

while maintaining economies of scale(B. Walker, personal communication, May 17,

2013).

Examples of mergers reviewed during the literature review include but are not limited to:

• Orange County Fire Authority and Westminster Fire Department merged although

Westminster Fire Department maintained their local control of the profitable ambulance

transportation service (C. Hadsell, personal communication, April 23, 2013).

• Los Angeles County Fire Department and La Habra Fire Department (in Orange County)

merged although the City of La Habra maintained control of the ambulance services (C.

Hadsell, personal communication, April 23, 2013).


• Alameda County Fire Department formed in 1993, by merging Castro Valley Fire

Department, Eden Consolidated Fire District, and the County Fire Patrol. The following

agencies followed suit in merging with Alameda County Fire Department. In 1995, San

Leandro Fire Department merged; in 1997, Dublin Fire Department merged; In 2002,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fire Services merged; In 2007, Lawrence

Livermore Laboratory Fire Services merged; in 2010, Newark Fire Department and

Union City Fire Department merged.

2. What are the benefits of a consolidated fire department to the citizens of each

city?

The literature review and questionnaire comments illuminated glaring similarities in other

studies and actual mergers and consolidations relating to the benefits of a merged/consolidated

fire department. The benefits will eventually transcend to the citizen by either service or fiscal

acuity and responsibility within an economy of scale. Different authors articulated the benefits

using different verbiage, however common themes included increased service levels to the

citizens, improved resource use/allocation, dollar savings through the reduction of redundancies

and combined processes, staff flexibility, stronger internal programs, and more resources

distributed equitably.

In Appendix B- City Manager/Council/Fire Chief Questionnaire, in question 8, 58 out of

68 respondents (85.3%) felt there was a clear benefit to a merger within the fire service. Only

two respondents felt that there was no benefit to a merger, while eight respondents felt there was

some benefit to a full merger. In question 9, relating to consolidations, 58/69 respondents opined

there was a benefit to a partial consolidation, 56/68 believed there was a benefit to functional


consolidation, 57/68 felt that there was a benefit to operational consolidations. In question 10, 69

out of 70 respondents thought there was benefit to shared services.

Several comments from the questionnaire illuminated the benefit of a shared service to

test the possibilities of a functional or an operational consolidation cultivating into a full merger

while maintaining organizational identity. They felt that it was a great way to test the process, yet

be able to collapse the relationship fairly easily without a huge commitment. Interestingly,

another felt that this was a disadvantage since the entity didn’t have to commit to the change.

Efficiencies and financial advantages were common themes upon respondents of the

questionnaire. Cost was a major benefit, only second to the improvement of community

services. Multiple people eluded to the fact that it was a stepping stone to a full merger. 85% of

the respondents felt that a merger was beneficial; 85% of the respondents believed that partial,

functional, and operational consolidations were beneficial; and 98% of the respondents opined

that where the more formal and legal consolidations wouldn’t work, a shared service would

work.

3. What are the disadvantages of consolidation for the communities and citizens

addressed in the study?

The literature review demonstrated similarities in other studies and actual mergers and

consolidations relating to the disadvantages of a merged/consolidated fire department.Different

authors articulated the disadvantages using different verbiage, however themes included fear of

the unknown by both citizens and employees, politics, poor communications, loss of local

autonomy, loss of local control, the integration of one fire chief, and changes/decreases in pay

and benefits.


In Appendix B- City Manager/Council/Fire Chief Questionnaire, in question 8, two out of

68 respondents (2.9%) felt there was no benefit to a merger within the fire service.In question 9,

relating to consolidations, 3/69 respondents opined there was no benefit to a partial

consolidation, 2/68 believed there was no benefit to functional consolidation, 3/68 felt that there

was no benefit to operational consolidations. In question 10, 1/70 respondents thought there was

no benefit to shared services.

In Appendix B, questions 4,5,6, and 7, loss of local control is the topic of the

questionnaire. In question 6, 53.5% believed that there would be a loss of local control of the

budget, however steps could be taken to limit this aspect. The percentage was similar in question

7, when addressing consolidations. Questions 4 and 5 address loss of local control of the fire

department itself. The respondents were split equally and very closely between mergers and

consolidations. Common themes amongst respondents regarding consolidations were that there

was less loss in consolidations as input was still directed largely by the governing agency,

however a full merger was dependent upon the governance of the newly formed entity.

4. What shared services would increase efficiencies, decrease duplication, and

maintain costs?

Shared services or partial consolidations can be as simple as providing truck companies

to cities without such assets/resources, sharing a training center, or sharing the cost of a

helicopter for brush fires and EMS evacuation or as complex as a more binding functional or

operational consolidation to manage the fire departments of five cities. The literature review

exhibited several examples of shared services where duplication is evident. Many agenciesare

combining CERT teams and are force multiplying their teams by combining them into a larger

group, allowing for concentrations of like-trained personnel to converge on the greatest need,


utilizing personnel from areas where their may not be a need. Costly US & R and hazardous

materials teams, with highly trained technical personnel, are combining using grant funds to

form large regional task forces to be more effective. Finally, EMS is poised to present some of

the greatest opportunities to the fire service with the legislation of PPACA. Groundbreaking

revenue producing programs are being addressed by many fire departments that will address the

expansion of paramedic services, ground emergency medical transportation, fire department

clinics, and community-based paramedicine. A shared EMS division, cross-jurisdictional

boundaries, presents solutions to budgetary issues as illustrated by Glendale (CA) Fire

Department, Westminster Fire Department, Anaheim Fire Department, La Habra Fire

Department, and Phoenix Fire Departments. Shared services led to cost effective model changes

that will address future PPACA opportunities.

In Tables 1 and 3, duplications within the five cities studied are illustrated. Along with

the duplications, several gaping holes are demonstrated. One of the significant issues that

contributed to the need to conduct this applied research was the duplication of services and

inability to maintain program efficiencies. The five cities and Glendale are similar in size,

population, and calls. The largest duplicated area was for operational battalion chief coverage.

Twelve battalion chiefs cover the same area as three battalion chiefs in Glendale, however each

maintains a divisional assignment. South Pasadena Fire Department, with one fire station, has

three battalion chiefs and no division/assistant/deputy chiefs, whereas San Marino Fire

Department, with one fire station has two division chiefs on forty-hour schedules that respond

during the week from 0700-1730 hours relieved by San Gabriel Fire Department who covers

response at night and on weekends. Five fire chiefs cover the same area as one fire chief in

Glendale. Only seven fire prevention officers cover the same area as 13 in Glendale, not


including a full environmental protection division addressing many more community risks. Table

2 illustrates that the five cities with 11 stations cover a smaller area than the Glendale (CA) Fire

Department with a larger budget, and less responses. The Heartland Fire and Rescue addressed

the same management redundancies by reorganizing and addressing the deficiencies.

Some of the glaring holes have been addressed utilizing mergers or consolidations in

similar sized communities. Simple partial consolidations/shared services like sharing truck

company, training centers, US & R teams, management groups, and EMS resources could

increase efficiencies, decrease duplication, and maintain costs. More binding consolidations and

full mergers can address and have been documented to follow most shared service agreements to

meet long-term planning goals to increase service within economies of scale. Many attempts to

merge or consolidate services have also failed. One commonality is that not one attempt has been

made that is without some repercussions, roadblocks, and completely negative or positive.

Johnson and Snook (1997) identified that were the political nature will not allow for one type of

alternative, another type may be better suited.

Discussion/Implications

The purpose of this study was to define the types of mergers and consolidation that exist

within the fire service and to determine the feasibility of consolidating wholly or partially with

neighboring agencies for the purpose of increased efficiency, staffing, and the alleviation of

administrative and operational redundancies. Descriptive research methods were used to answer

the following questions: (a) What types of mergers and consolidations exist for fire departments?

(b) What are the benefits of a consolidated fire department to the citizens of each city? (c) What

are the disadvantages of consolidation for the communities and citizens addressed in the study?


(d) What shared services/partial consolidations would increase efficiencies, decrease duplication,

and maintain costs?

The qualitative analysis of this Applied Research Project gathered through the use of a

questionnaire and the literature review indicate that the macro view of the fire service illustrates

a trend towards fire service mergers and consolidations. The type of merger and/or consolidation

is often dictated by the necessity of such steps, but most often begin as simple partial

consolidations and end up in full-scale mergers(Snook & Johnson, 1997). A complete 11 city or

five-city consolidation or merger would increase efficiencies, reduce expenditures, improve use

of resources, provide greater flexibility to staff, enhance internal programs, reduce program,

station, and personnel redundancies, and place more resources on the fireground. It will surely

have some negative effects that are outweighed significantly by the positive attributes. An 11

city merger would likely force multiply the savings and service levels. The literature review

illustrates successes from around the State of California and nation that have been successful.

Chief Ron Coleman predicted this many years ago, and more and more departments are making

change towards some sort of consolidation to address efficiencies and budgetary concerns

(Coleman, 2012). At a local level, comparing the combined size of the five cities to Glendale

(CA) Fire Department, which is similar sized,exemplifies potential savings and increased

efficiencies.

Table 2 demonstrates a difference of $2.75 million without changing anything and

combining the five cities. Table 3 illustrates that the five cities have two additional stations, two

additional engines, three additional battalion chief units, one additional air/light unit, and one

less truck company. Reducing two stations and two engines would reduce expenditures by an

estimated one million dollars per station, however the response capabilities and matrices would


most likely cause the need for relocation of other stations. With the aging infrastructures,

changing fire service needs, and potential EMS solutions necessitated by the PPACA, most of

the five cities should address station replacement and modernization.Long-term planning,

utilizing available data analysis software, would project appropriate relocation of aged stations

that not only would address the duplication of stations but forecasted needs for community

paramedics, fire department clinics, and healthcare transportation partnerships (Clark, 2013).

As shown in Table 1, the five cities employ four and one half fire chiefs to serve the same

size community as Glendale (CA) Fire Department, with one fire chief. Twelve battalion chiefs

cover the same area as three Glendale (CA) battalion chiefs working out of span of control with

twelve captains reporting to them on a daily basis. The five cities have two dedicated division

chiefs whereas Glendale has a Deputy Chief, Training Chief, and a Fire Marshal. The five cities

have the same number of captains as Glendale (CA), 42 engineers compared to 37 Glendale

(CA), 81 firefighters and firefighter/paramedics compared to 96 Glendale (CA), four fire

prevention personnel compared to 13 Glendale (CA), two deputy fire marshals compared to zero

Glendale (CA). In the newly created Heartland Fire District, the team includes one fire chief,

three deputy chiefs, two division chiefs, five battalion chiefs, fire prevention resources, and eight

support staff for the three cities within a similar sized area as the five cities ("Three City," n.d.).

This author agrees with Dr. Hadsell and his Master’s thesis, a total reorganization of the

five cities into a combined Fire District consolidation would provide increased services to the

citizens of each community if constructed so that divisions were adequately staffed, personnel

were appropriately allocated, stations relocated, and systems were consolidated into a more

efficient model for the long-term. Innovations in EMS since the predecessor research will further

enhance efficiencies within economies of scale. Combined purchasing will facilitate enhanced


efficiencies in ordering, purchasing, warehousing, and cost savings. Where a full consolidation

or merger into a separate fire district could not be made, shared services can continue to mold

future opportunities and growth towards what seems to be the inevitable.

Clark, Snook, Johnson, Cochran, and the United States Fire Administration unanimously

agree that EMS has the greatest potential impact to the fire service in the near future, therefore a

great deal of opportunity for shared services, consolidations, and mergers poise the greatest

chance of negative and positive impact dependent upon the outcome and direction fire service

leaders take on the subject. There are many types of mergers and consolidations that exist for fire

departments. The most timely, critical, and emerging issue is fire-based EMS and the affordable

care act (Cochran, 2010). The literature review and documentation indicate that all five cities

within this Applied Research Study maintain the same management and organizational

necessities to manage a fire department with duplication of services and inefficiencies at the

management level. The EMS models being explored and utilized by the Glendale, Huntington

Beach, Westminster, La Habra, Santa Monica, Anaheim, and Phoenix are providing cost savings,

increased efficiencies, and preparation for growth projected to occur due to the change in

healthcare legislation. Monterey Park Fire Department operates a fire department advanced life

support transportation and ambulance program to facilitate day-to-day operations. Through the

Los Angeles County merger study for Monterey Park Fire Department, it was illustrated in a

presentation to council and citizens that the EMS program is cost negative $698,129 (City of

Monterey Park Fire Department [MPKFD], 2013, p. 24). They operate fire department

paramedic staffed transportation ambulances. Glendale (CA) Fire Department changed from the

same model as Monterey Park Fire Department and all other Region 1 Area C cities to an EMT

ambulance operator program. This program took them from a $2.5 million loss to a $23,157


revenue to manage the paramedic program (Belknap, 2011, p. 20). Without a full merger or

operational consolidation, a partial or functional consolidation within EMS for the five cities

could present opportunities to address inefficiencies, reduce expenditures, and prepare for the

effects of HR 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and HR 809, Field EMS Quality,

Innovation, and Cost Effectiveness Improvements Act of 2013.

The reductions in management staff, to the fire service, inhibits the ability of fire service

executives to adequately staff and prepare for opportunities and threats to the fire service. To

manage change into a new EMS system, administrative staff is required to mitigate and facilitate

the change. A management reorganization would facilitate a position in EMS that not one city

currently staffs at administrative level. Policies and procedures must be modified and prepared

prior to the effective change. Without personnel to administer the program, facilitate the new

procedures, and train personnel to the new expectations, programs are likely to fail and/or

increase liability to the community if change is made haphazardly.

The implications of the results of this Applied Research Project for the Alhambra Fire

Department is the identification of need or opportunity to merge or consolidate,the use of

different levels of mergers and consolidations for the betterment of the community, and the

impact to the community should the change manifest. Neighboring agencies are seeking

alternatives and solutions to budgetary impacts that are affecting their ability to address

emergency response levels of service. The City of South Pasadena is seeking battalion chief

coverage for response coverage by eliminating three positions. The City of Monterey Park

sought a bid for service for a full merger of fire services into the Los Angeles County Fire

Department. The City of San Gabriel is seeking solutions to a budget deficit that may include a

change of service levels to the fire department. The City of Alhambra is working at reduced


administrative levels, stressing operational and management capabilities. The opportunity is right

to conduct a cooperative merger or consolidation at some level or scope to increase efficiencies,

decrease duplication, reduce expenditures, and increase service levels within an economy of

scale. The challenge is the mitigation of the negative aspects of mergers and consolidation that

can be addressed by building strong policy that prevent or reduce the loss of local autonomy and

local control, good communications that foster breakdowns in relationships, inclusion of

stakeholders to benefit all parties to the change, and a strong plan to facilitate the expected

outcomes.

Recommendations

Based on the research results of this Applied Research Project, it is recommended that

further, more detailed and comprehensive studies regarding mergers, consolidations, and shared

services be identified and evaluated to increase the level of services provided to the customer

within an economy of scale, while addressing inefficiencies in current operations within Region

1, Area C. Significant duplications, inefficiencies, service deviations, financial impacts and

disadvantages, and opportunities were identified throughout this Applied Research Project within

five of the 11 cities in Region 1, Area C. The communities and citizens can benefit from any or

all of these solutions.

To minimize roadblocks, while anticipating and learning from the failures of those that

have not succeeded previously, all stakeholders and potential partners should be identified and

brought into the discussions regarding potential options for providing shared services as partial

consolidations, functional consolidations, operational consolidations, and a full-scale merger at

both the five city and 11 city potential mergers. An experienced third party, non-biased, entity

like Citygate Associates or Emergency Services Consulting International, should be contracted


for services to mediate the process and illustrate solution outcomes to provide the level of service

outcomes, cost analysis, service impacts, governance, and dynamics of the different options.

Quantitative analysis of the response areas should be evaluated using technical software to

identify NFPA 1710 required efficiencies for fire force responses and EMS outcomes suggested

by the American Heart Association and medical industry. Tiered levels of transaction should be

identified and qualified, through quantitative outcomes and suggested steps for best possible

transition, in a long-term plan. Optional immediate solutions should also be identified and

implemented that can be transitioned into full-scale mergers as the planning and transitions

occur. EMS being the most crucial opportunity and threat to the fire service, this author suggests

an immediate solution to address efficiencies and opportunities provided in the EMS future.

It is suggested that once the direction is delineated and ratified through participating

parties, JPA boards, consultants, and/or governing boards meet regularly to participate in

strategy sessions to implement the different levels of transitions, develop foundational elements

including the structure, pay, benefits, and vision of the new entity, an implementation timeline

with trigger points for each implementation of the strategic plan, build core guidance policy, and

goals and objectives to further advance the cause through a transparent transition between all

stakeholders. Regular communications should be made to all stakeholder groups to mitigate

rumors and minimize resistance to the change. Regular, consistent, and common reporting to

leaders should be developed and transferred to governing bodies to insure a common message

and outcome is being addressed.


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Documents

Consolidation, Merger, or Shared Services? What Would Best